


fire to ashes, earth to dust

by chlodobird



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Badass Toph Beifong, Friendship, Gen, Light Angst, Ozai (Avatar) is an Asshole, Protective Toph Beifong, These kids need friends lol, Toph Beifong & Zuko Friendship, Toph Beifong Being Awesome, Toph Beifong and Zuko are Siblings, Toph and Zuko Sparring, Zuko is an Awkward Turtleduck, but mostly - Freeform, couple of kids figuring out how to move on, oh yeah, you can take Toph from my cold dead hands
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-03
Updated: 2020-12-03
Packaged: 2021-03-09 18:00:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,908
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27860409
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chlodobird/pseuds/chlodobird
Summary: Toph hates being managed. She left home so that she wouldn't have to deal with upper class bullshit anymore! The Gaang wasn't getting anywhere in Ba Sing Se, so she starts exploring the city while the others are busy (when she's not training Aang in earthbending, of course). On one of her trips out, she stumbles across a couple of familiar tea servers in the Lower Circle. And, well. She was curious, and Katara wasn't there to tell her talking to the Fire Prince and the Dragon of the West was a bad idea.Turns out, it was the best idea she'd had in a WHILE.Alternatively: Zuko has a heart attack when the earthbender surprises him at work, but she seems determined to make friends with him. What the hell is he supposed to do with this?
Relationships: Iroh & Zuko (Avatar), Toph Beifong & Iroh, Toph Beifong & Sokka, Toph Beifong & Zuko
Comments: 38
Kudos: 418





	fire to ashes, earth to dust

**Author's Note:**

> just realized that the title sounds super angsty but i promise this fic isn't super sad, it's full of the best meat of all: meat of friendship

The bell above the door jingled, and Zuko turned to grudgingly welcome the somewhat familiar customer to the dingy tea shop.

He only got halfway through his practiced spiel before it clicked. “Welcome to- you!”

His hands instinctively twitched to grab his swords, but he wasn’t wearing them, and there was no one with weapons in the shop.

Whoever she was, she had been traveling with the Avatar, and without weapons, she was likely a bender. Zuko’s mind raced. Green- Earth Kingdom. So probably an earthbender. Stay off the floor, keep moving. Agility instead of strength.

_ Agni _ , he wished he had his swords.

The girl was smirking at him. “The others filled me in on who you were. Relax, I’m not here to fight.”

Zuko felt the other customers’ stares on him.  _ Can’t draw attention _ , he reminded himself. Uncle had been accused of firebending once already. He nodded jerkily towards the back, but the girl didn’t respond.

“We can talk in the back room,” he said, masking his worry with anger.

She nodded, and walked past Zuko. He turned as she went, staying alert for any sign of earthbending.

Before he followed her through the door to the back room, he sent a sweeping glare over the tea shop. “I’m going on my break,” he announced. Curious stares switched to studious disinterest. He rolled his eyes and shut the door.

In the ten seconds he had taken to deal with the customers, the girl had earthbent a chair for herself and was holding a cup of tea. “Thanks, Uncle!”

What? “You two  _ know each other _ ?” 

“He gave me tea. And advice.”

Of course he did. Zuko got to the point. “If you’re here, so is the Avatar. Did you tell him about us? How did you find us?”

The girl stared through him, and he finally noted that she was blind. Visual distractions wouldn’t work in a fight, then, rely on auditory surprises if necessary.

“Why are you here?” she asked.

Before Zuko could lose his temper, Uncle stepped in. “We are refugees. Traitors to the Fire Nation.”

“We are  _ not  _ traitors!” Zuko snapped.

The earthbender raised an eyebrow, and turned back to Uncle. “You’re not here to destroy Ba Sing Se or kill the Earth King or anything?”

“I’m happy serving tea with my nephew,” Uncle Iroh said calmly.

She nodded, and frowned at Zuko. “Aang doesn’t know you’re here. I ditched them and Joo Dee for a while. I  _ hate _ being managed,” she spat.

Zuko felt a stab of sympathy, but shoved it down. “You said they told you who we were. Why wouldn’t you tell them about us?” he said suspiciously. His instincts screamed trap.

“Because I like making my own mind up about things,” she said fiercely. “They said you and Uncle were both horrible Fire Nation royals, but . . . Uncle gave advice to a stranger, and you’re the nephew he talked about” (Zuko glared at Uncle, and only got a guilty smile in return) “and in the town you were fighting against Crazy Blue.”

She shrugged, and finished, “I don’t trust you, but I’m not going to rat you out, as long as you answer one thing for me.”

“What?” he said warily.

“Are you going to try to capture Aang?”

Zuko hesitated. He had to! If he caught the Avatar, he could go  _ home _ .

She crossed her arms. “That’s what I thought. But I’m a Beifong, and that means I know how to deal. So how about this. Two weeks. You don’t try to capture the Avatar, and I don’t tell the others about you. It’ll give us time to figure each other out.”

If she told the others about him and they ran, he could probably track them out of Ba Sing Se. If they came to confront him, he could escape and follow them until they rested and he could capture the Avatar. He grit his teeth and said, “Fine. Deal.”

“I’m Toph,” she said with a smirk. “I assume you’re not going by Zuko here.”

“Lee. And Uncle is Mushi.”

Toph grinned at him, and he grimaced slightly. No good could come of this.

On the second day of their deal, Toph finally made her way into the Lower Ring. She knew that to anyone watching her, she seemed calm, but inside, she was practically vibrating with fury. She hated Ba Sing Se. She joined Aang to get away from the stuck up nobility shit, not go to an even  _ more _ stuck up city. She was suffocating.

She slammed open the tea shop door, and Zuko’s heartbeat spiked. It took him a few moments to calm down and break the fighting stance he automatically jumped into. With no immediate threat, he went back to wiping down tables, though his heart was still racing.

“I didn’t realize our deal included meeting up with each other,” he grumbled.

Too bad. “Fight me,” she said loudly. She missed Earth Rumbles, and Zuko had to be good in combat.

His heartbeat ticked upwards again and his hands stopped moving, but his voice stayed level. “What?”

“I can get us in and out of the walls. There’s tons of empty land around here. I can toss a few boulders around without getting yelled at, and you can practice firebending.”

She was betting he felt as cooped up as she was, and knew she guessed right when he grumbled something incoherent under his breath and called, “Uncle! I’m going to spar with Toph!”

Uncle bustled out of the back room, and his voice sounded proud when he said, “I think you both could learn a lot from each other. Remember, Zuko, the separation of elements is an illusion.”

On their way out, Toph and Zuko didn’t speak much (although she noted how quiet his steps were), but once outside of the city, she asked, “The separation of elements?”

Zuko shrugged. “It’s something Uncle told me about. He said that we can use other bending styles to improve our own bending.”

Hm. Using other elements’ styles . . . Her mind wandered back to the slurry she bent with Katara, and she shelved the idea for later. In the meantime, she had some ass to kick.

Toph cracked her knuckles and said smugly. “We’re far enough away from Ba Sing Se for you to lose!”

Zuko actually laughed a little at that, and she grinned. He thought this two week deal was for them to figure out if they would betray each other or not. Dumbass. She had given herself two weeks to make a new friend.

Toph won about two thirds of their rounds, and it was late by the time Zuko walked to the side of their homemade ring and pulled out the swords he’d stashed earlier.

She tilted her head and finally asked the question that had been waiting at the back of her mind since she’d noticed the swords. “What does a royal firebender need swords for?”

He snorted, and said dryly, “Firebenders aren’t exactly welcome in the middle of the Earth Kingdom.”

She crossed her arms. “You’ve been training with them for years, though. I can tell by how you stand.” He was definitely a firebender. No mistaking that warmth that soaked into the earth. But his stance felt like the swordsmen that had visited her parents sometimes. Not exactly the same, but close enough to spot the similarities.

“I . . .” He sounded pained, like he was allergic to admitting any of his past. “I wasn’t the best bender, as a child. My cousin suggested swords.”

Toph nodded. It was a good enough answer for now. “Show me how you use them against the best earthbender in the world,” she challenged.

He leapt forward with grace, and the differences sank in as she kept him moving. Firebending countered earthbending more easily, sure, but the swords  _ felt right _ for him. He was moving more naturally.

She couldn’t help but wonder.

Still, Toph didn’t let any of it show, and when he finally conceded the match to her, she punched him fondly on the arm. “You’re amazing with swords, Prickly.”

She could hear him breathe in to argue, about the punch, compliment, nickname, or all three (probably all three), but after a moment of hesitation, he deflated. “Thanks, I guess.”

“So what happens if you combine the swords and firebending?”

His heartbeat did something funny, and he reluctantly said, “I have before.”

There was a story there, and Toph waited. Listened. Zuko had more rock in him that he would probably admit.

Sure enough, he relented and explained more. “I was losing a fight against an earthbender by just using my swords. I bent, and even though I won the fight easily after that, it . . . didn’t end great. The other villagers weren’t happy.”

“I bet.” Not a lot of Fire Nation fans around here.

He shook off the thoughts and slid into a ready stance. “Let’s do it.”

“You’re going down!” She punched out with her earthbending, but Zuko’s swords and fire slashed through the rocks with ease. Oh, it was _ on _ .

They battled back and forth, but Toph finally whacked Zuko in the back of the knees with a rock, and when he stumbled, she pressed the advantage and tossed another rock at him. Nothing hard enough to break bones, but he was going to be  _ so _ bruised tomorrow. 

Zuko groaned from the ground, but he barely took a second to breathe before leaping back to his feet and saying, “Again.”

“We should probably get back, actually,” Toph said reluctantly. “You can try your fire sword thing more tomorrow.”

His heart did something complicated that she couldn’t quite parse, and his voice was unreadable. “Tomorrow?”

“Yeah, tomorrow. You got a problem with that?”

“No, it . . . It sounds good.”

Toph grinned, and began walking back towards Ba Sing Se. Maybe she had time for a cup of tea with Uncle before she had to get back.

Zuko didn’t know what to make of Toph. Their deal was a two week truce. Everyone knew that meant you kept your distance and tried to figure out the other person’s plans, and made your own plans, and after the truce ended, everyone got back to trying to beat each other.

So why in Agni’s name was the girl trying to be  _ friends _ ?

He spent three more days of sparring on edge before finally blurting out after a round of sparring, “Why are you doing this?”

Toph shrugged. “I’m bored and angry, and you’re good at sparring.”

“That can’t be the whole reason. You could spar with the Avatar if that’s what you were looking for. What do you want with  _ me _ ?”

“You’re not how the others described you, and I’m curious about what changed,” she said calmly.

Zuko crossed his arms. He’d never been good at telling when people were lying. Uncle thinks she’s trustworthy, he reminded himself.

. . . Uncle also poisoned himself trying to make tea.

Guess he should just keep trying to get her to confess her plan. Ugh. He hated politics.

Toph flopped to the ground, and asked him, “So why did you end up here, anyway?”

He could tell her that much. “My sister, Azula, wanted to arrest me and Uncle. And after we fought her in the town with all of you, we headed here.”

“Why was she trying to arrest you?”

Play along. Assume that any information he gives her will eventually end up with the Avatar. He took one of Uncle’s calming breaths, and explained, “She decided Uncle and I were traitors. That Uncle was responsible for the loss at the North Pole.”

He could see the gears in Toph’s head turning. “Wait, does arresting you have something to do with your banishment?”

Shit, she knew about that? “You know about that?”

“Beifong, remember? People talk about important stuff around my house, and I sneak around to listen when I can.”

_ Dad’s going to kill you! Really, he is! _

He winced at the memory, and before she could notice anything out of place, he said, “Um. Yeah. How much do you know?”

“Not much. Just that a traveling merchant heard a rumor that the prince had been banished? I didn’t tell the others anything about it. I’m betting that this whole ‘capture the Avatar’ thing has something to do with it.”

“I was banished, and if I captured the Avatar, I could go back home,” Zuko said reluctantly.

Toph tilted her head thoughtfully. “Then why stop hunting him?”

He frowned. “I didn’t stop!” He had to if he wanted to go home.

Except. Azula said Father didn’t want him home.

He shook his head slightly and refocused on his goal. If he brought the Avatar to the Fire Nation, he would no longer be a failure. Father would welcome him back. “I  _ will _ restore my honor.”

“Zuko,” Toph started, hesitantly. “I’m not exactly the best example when it comes to healthy relationships with parents, but . . . Even I know parents shouldn’t kick out their kids.”

Zuko growled, and summoned flame daggers. “Let’s just go back to fighting already.”

She hopped to her feet, and sent some rocks spiraling his way, but she wore a thoughtful expression in between rounds for the rest of the night.

Uncle was waiting when he got home. “How was training, nephew?”

“Fine,” he snapped. 

“I’m glad you’re making a new friend,” he said calmly.

Zuko just glared at him, but on his way to his bedroll, he hesitated. “Uncle?”

“Yes, Zuko?”

“Would- if Lu Ten disrespected you, what would you have done?”

Uncle looked at him with sadness in his eyes and answered without hesitation, “I would have asked him why he disrespected me, and listened to what he had to say. If he had a good reason, I would accept it, and if it was a mistake, I would simply ask him not to do it again. No matter what Lu Ten did, I would have forgiven him.”

Zuko pulled the covers up over his head, and tried to go to sleep, but Toph and Uncle’s words kept spinning around in his head.

The next day, they were at it again, but Zuko’s heartbeat had been faster than normal all evening, like he was working up the courage to say something. Toph got sick of it after two rounds of kicking his ass.

“What do you have to say? I’m not going to judge you or anything.”

“What did you mean when you said you didn’t have a good relationship with your parents?”

Oof. That . . . wasn’t what she expected. She shoved down the hurt that always reared its head when the Beifongs were brought up, and began to explain. “They thought that being blind made me helpless. They never let me out into the world, never let me do any real earthbending, always made the servants do things for me instead of just teaching me how to do it. They never let me do anything,” she spat.

She took a deep breath to calm down, like she’d seen Prickly do when he got mad or- any other emotion, really. “So I ran away, and badgermoles taught me earthbending. They didn’t even let me go on walks outside with the guards after that, so when the Avatar showed up, I took my chance and got out of there.”

Not the whole truth, but good enough.

“Your parents didn’t punish you for running away?” Zuko asked quietly. Unreadable.

“I mean, yeah. ’Course they did. I had to sit through more lessons on being a proper lady than normal, and I didn’t get earthbending lessons for a month.” She snorted. “Not that the lessons were anything useful anyway. Just stupid old men telling me to breathe and stopping me from bending anything more than a pebble.”

“That’s  _ it _ ?”

Toph felt irritation at the dismissal surge, but as soon as Zuko’s meaning sunk in, it vanished. “What did your parents do if you misbehaved?” she asked, dread filling her stomach.

Zuko shifted in place, and his heartbeat sped up. “It doesn’t matter. Father was right to punish failure and disrespect.”

“Zuko,” she said firmly. “Whatever your father did, you didn’t deserve it.”

He tensed, and began to pace. “You don’t even know what I did!”

“It doesn’t matter what you did, Zuko!” Toph was on her feet, now, and barely stopping herself from yelling. “I get it! You don’t want to face that what your dad did is wrong. I  _ get it _ . It took me years to figure it out, but how they treated us is  _ their  _ fault, not ours!”

Zuko’s heart was practically beating out of his chest, and he shouted, “But if it was his fault,  _ what do I do next? _ ”

She took a step forward. “Only you can figure that out. But whatever you do, you’ll finally get to choose.”

His heartbeat finally slowed. , but she didn’t let herself sigh in relief. She wasn’t done yet. “I’ll be here for you.  _ Your uncle _ will be here for you. You don’t have to figure it out on your own.”

Zuko didn’t say anything. Shit, what if she screwed up? Should she leave him alone? Go get Uncle? Maybe-

“Finding the Avatar wouldn’t be enough for him,” he said hollowly.

Toph winced. She didn’t know much about the situation, but that sounded accurate.

“But if I don’t get the Avatar and go home, then what was the  _ point _ of the last three years?” Zuko’s voice was beginning to rise again, but this time, he wasn’t angry. He sounded on the edge of panicking.

“Do your breath thing,” Toph instructed. His breath caught in his throat, but he complied, and his heartbeat started to creep back down. “You don’t have to know all the answers right away.” What was something Uncle would say?

Probably a proverb, but she couldn’t do them and Zuko wouldn’t like them. Okay then, keep going with Toph style. Wait and listen.

“I don’t- I don’t know what to do if I’m not searching for the Avatar.”

“Well. You could keep doing what you’ve  _ been _ doing. Serve tea with Uncle. See what life is like outside of the Fire Nation. You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to.”

Zuko’s heart finally slowed back down to his normal. That is, a bit faster than average, like he was anxious that someone (maybe Toph) would attack him out of nowhere.

He sounded thoughtful when he spoke, almost to himself. “I could just serve tea.”

The adrenaline began to seep out of Toph, and a bone-deep tiredness rushed in. After a few seconds, Zuko squared his shoulders, and picked up his sheathed swords. “We should get back. I’ll . . . I’ll think about this.”

Toph finally let herself mentally cheer. “Lead the way, Prickly.”

Zuko poured tea with his most neutral expression, but in between customers, he went over every inch of last night’s conversation with Toph in his mind.

It wasn’t his fault Father hit him.

Bringing the Avatar home wouldn’t make Father proud.

_ (He had wasted three years on his ship.) _

He could turn to Uncle if he needed help.

And . . . Toph hadn’t asked him about any plans he had in Ba Sing Se, or about the Fire Nation’s weaknesses, or any of the other questions she would have asked an enemy.

She’d opened up to him, trusted him.

He didn’t think she was a spy anymore. Not after their conversation.

“Can I get a ginseng tea?”

Zuko shelved his thoughts, and slipped into the kitchen to relay the order to Uncle.

That night, when Toph stopped by, he silently thanked Agni that she didn’t pry about what he thought about their conversation. 

Toph knew she shouldn’t push about yesterday’s talk. If he had questions, she’d made sure he knew he could ask, but she guessed he probably just wanted to process it on his own. 

After a few hours of sparring, she flopped to the ground. “I don’t wanna go back into the city,” she said with a slight whine.

He sat down next to her carefully, and looked up at the sky. The stars? “I don’t want to go back either. I love Uncle, but . . . serving tea isn’t enough for me.”

They were quiet, but Toph eventually broke the silence. “What are you looking at?”

“The constellations. When I was on my ship, I yelled at the first mate until he taught me navigation. After that, it was relaxing knowing I could always know where I was.” 

He paused, and Toph recognized the heartbeat pattern that went with Zuko deciding if he wanted to share something personal. She kept her breathing steady, and she heard him sigh. “I never paid attention to the night sky above the Caldera when I was little, but I used to try and picture how the position of the constellations would be different at home.”

She edged slightly closer, and asked, “What do they look like?”

Zuko tilted his head in concentration. “It’s like . . . if you scattered sand over a piece of marble. The sky’s really smooth and flat, and there’s stars scattered over it. They’re all different brightness . . . it’s like being in a forest and sunlight just barely gets through the leaves, so parts of you are cold and some are warm.”

“Thanks,” she mumbled. Her parents had never done that. They described things in color and lightness and shapes, not earth and warmth.

They sat in silence for a while longer, and Toph felt Zuko’s heartbeat gradually settling into the rhythm of a normal person.

He  _ fell asleep _ .

She smiled to herself, and mentally promised to keep watch. If he was getting comfortable enough with her company to fall asleep next to her, she damn well was going to keep that trust.

The next morning, the moment the first rays of sun began to warm her face, Zuko woke up.

He didn’t move for a few seconds, assessing the situation, but Toph could feel his heartbeat. He was alert, and back to his normal racing heart. “Morning, Sunshine,” she said quietly. “I kept watch last night, nothing happened.”

“Um. Thanks,” he said awkwardly. “I should get back, I have a shift in a couple hours.”

“The others are probably getting worried about me anyway,” Toph said reluctantly. “But if I can get back before they wake up, I should be fine. None of us are firebenders, so I should have some time.” She didn’t mention that he had fallen asleep, but he was tense anyway.

Hopefully she’d get him comfortable enough to relax around her on purpose and not out of exhaustion.

A day later, Zuko jumped when Toph slammed open the door to the teashop. She looked ready to fight, and he edged backwards when she beamed at him and cracked her knuckles. “What’s up, Prickly? Ready to get beat up by a kid half your size?”

“Um. Actually, would you like to come have tea with Uncle and I in our apartment? He wants to meet you properly.” Well. Zuko had suggested it, technically, but Uncle had wanted to get to know Toph enough that he wasn’t really lying.

Toph either fell for it or let it slide. “Sounds great!”

“Let Uncle and I finish closing up, and we can head out.”

He finished sweeping, and Uncle finished washing the dishes a minute later. Together, they walked through the Lower Ring and were at the apartment within minutes.

“It looks great, guys!” Toph said cheerfully.

Zuko tilted his head. Wasn’t she blind?

“Sokka always falls for that one,” she grumbled disappointedly.

Uncle chuckled. “No doubt he is not used to the noble habit of imbedding insults in compliments.”

Toph groaned. “You should have heard him and Aang talking about how they would infiltrate a fancy party.”

“Oh, I’m sure that went well,” Zuko said with a snort.

“Yeah . . . you’re not wrong there.”

Uncle puttered around the tiny apartment, making tea, and he and Toph settled at the table.

Zuko searched for something to say and settled on, “So . . . how do you fight without vision?”

“Earthbending. If I’m touching my element, I can sense vibrations and stuff.” She shrugged. “It’s not sight, but it lets me do other stuff. I won’t be taken by surprise from behind, because I’m not using my eyes. My seismic sense isn’t stopped by walls and stuff. I can tell when people are lying.”

Zuko froze. “You can tell when people lie?”

She winced, and nodded.

He clenched his fists and took deep breaths.

“I’m sorry,” she offered calmly. “But for what it’s worth, you haven’t really lied to me that much. And even if you did, I’m not a spirit. I won’t know what the truth is, just that it’s not that.”

Uncle broke into the conversation. “Nephew, if this was how she decided she could trust us, it’s for the best.”

Zuko nodded stiffly, and picked up his tea to have something to do with his hands.

“Listen, heartbeats, breathing, how you hold your weight, it’s like . . . facial expressions,” Toph said slowly. “I can’t tell when you’re glaring or not, but if your heartbeat is fast, you’re mad or excited or scared, and the more time I spent with someone, the better I get to know the way their body feels through earth.”

Uncle nodded understandingly, and asked, “How detailed is your sense of the world?”

Zuko didn’t miss the relieved smile that flashed across her face for a second. “I can tell when people nod, if that’s what you mean, but I don’t have details. It depends how much I focus. I’ll focus more in a fight on how people shift their weight, and in a conversation, I pay more attention to gestures.”

“Okay,” Zuko said, surprising all three of them. “That makes sense.”

At the back of his mind, he noted that Toph explaining her earthbending was another point in favor of her really trying to befriend them. She wouldn’t give them this information if they were going to fight against her.

She breathed a sigh of relief, and asked Uncle, “What kind of tea is this? It’s better than anything we ever had at home.”

“Why, thank you! It’s a rooibos jasmine blend,” he said happily. “I picked it up in a little town just outside Ba Sing Se.”

“While you guys were traveling?”

Uncle nodded, and Zuko stared into his cup of tea. He had robbed a nobleman and told Uncle that he got paid to help fix a roof. His uncle had accepted his lie, and decided that they were close enough to the city to splurge a bit on tea.

Zuko downed his cup of tea to hide his grimace, and didn’t pour another cup.

“What was it like? Traveling?”

“Don’t you and your friends travel a lot?” Zuko said curiously.

“Yeah, but it’s different. We fly on a bison and avoid places with a bunch of people,” she said with a shrug. “What’s it like being in Earth Kingdom towns?”

Uncle took a sip of his tea before answering. “The world has been damaged by the war, but there is hope. People show kindness, even in the least likely places.”

“Like who?”

“There was a healer, who gave my nephew and I a hot meal and a place to rest,” he said thoughtfully.

Zuko shifted guiltily, but Uncle seemed focused on Toph. “Your people are surviving.”

She relaxed a bit, and said, “Thanks. Traveling with the Avatar makes it hard to figure out what my home is really like.”

It wasn’t like what Uncle was saying. It wasn’t good. Zuko had to steal and lie his way through the Earth Kingdom, and when he revealed who he was, they were afraid. They hated him.

_ A mother, stepping in front of her son. Fear in her eyes. Not a step closer! _

_ He knelt, and offered a knife. It’s yours, you should have it. _

_ No! I hate you! _

“It’s not like that.” Zuko barely realized the words were coming out of his mouth. “People are hurting.”

Toph winced and held her cup of tea closer. “I know. I’m trying to help Aang end the war.”

“My father won’t let that happen,” Zuko said. He felt numb, and for once, the way forward seemed clear. 

Lee’s brother. Song’s leg. All the refugees pouring into Ba Sing Se to get away from the Fire Nation’s armies.

And the 41st. His people -people who had been taught lies for a century- were dying for nothing.

The war was  _ wrong.  _ “The Fire Nation has to be stopped.”

Uncle nodded gently at him. “Zuko. I am so proud of you.”

His uncle pulled him into a hug, and he finally let himself cry.

“You have finally chosen your own path.”

Behind him, Toph chimed in, “I’m glad you’re down to stop your dad, but be careful.”

Zuko pulled away from Uncle, and shrugged. “I’ll figure something out.”

“I will be here to help you, nephew. I have been waiting to deal with my brother for three years now.” A downright vicious look crossed Uncle’s face, shortly followed by sadness. “I should have stepped in long ago.”

Toph turned to glare at him. “Yeah, you should’ve.”

“Hey, it’s not his fault that he fought the Earth Kingdom,” Zuko interjected.

“That’s  _ not _ what I’m talking about.”

Uncle, for some reason, glanced at him, and when he looked back to Toph, he seemed weighed down. “I know.”

Zuko frowned in confusion, but shrugged it off and thought. He had been able to break into the Pohuai Stronghold and the North Pole. He could probably sneak into the Caldera.

But to do what? He couldn’t kill his father. Maybe he could convince some guards to throw Ozai in prison?

But then the Fire Sages would probably crown Azula.

He definitely couldn’t throw her in jail. Their father had twisted her, but . . . She was still his sister. He needed more help than just Uncle.

When it hit him, he groaned.

“What did you just figure out?” Toph said curiously.

Shit, this was going to go terribly. He grit his teeth, and forced himself to admit, “Maybe I should help you guys.”

Toph beamed at him. “Really?”

He took a deep breath, and nodded. “Yeah. I’m in.”

“We still have a week left on our deal,” she said with an evil grin. “That means more sparring, Sunshine.”

“You’re on,” he said immediately.

Uncle stood, and bowed to Toph. “Thank you for being a friend for my nephew.”

“Hey, thanks for not setting me on fire as soon as I walked in,” she said with a shrug. “I’m sure we would’ve been friends eventually, even if we hadn’t met here.”

“Good luck with your fights,” Uncle said.

They headed towards the outer wall, and Zuko finally let himself consciously relax around Toph.

A week after Toph and Zuko’s deal ended, Sokka confronted her on her way out. “Where do you keep sneaking off to? Got a boyfriend or something?”

Zuko?  _ Ew _ . She made a face, and retorted, “You’re just jealous I found someone to be friends with that isn’t terrified of the Dai Li.” Well, he was, because if he and Uncle got caught it would be  _ awful _ , but he didn’t let it stop him from hanging out with Toph.

Sokka groaned. “I think we’re all going a little stir-crazy.”

Hmm . . . “I’ve been sparring with a guy. I bet he could teach you how to swordfight.”

His heartbeat spiked. “Really?” She nodded, and the tension he’d been holding for days seeped out of him. “Thanks, Toph.”

“I’ll ask him next time I see him. He’s a pretty private guy, but I’m sure he’ll see the sense in this plan.”

“Are you  _ crazy _ ?”

“Come on, he’s bored and you’re trying to think of ways to convince the other that you’re trustworthy. It’ll be great!”

Zuko’s heartbeat was back to the frantic levels it had been when he first met her, and she internally winced. Sure, he might have decided to join the Gaang, but she understood why actually doing it would be terrifying.

He hesitated. “Did you tell him about who I was?”

“Just that I met up with a sword fighter.”

“What if I wore a mask?” he said reluctantly.

Toph beamed. “Yes!” It had been five seconds and she already had some amazing prank ideas.

Maybe she’d loop Zuko in . . . maybe she wouldn’t. “This is going to be great, Prickly!”

He sighed again, and his heartbeat slowed back down to its normal quick pace. Under his breath, he muttered something about crazy plans and strongholds, but Toph ignored it in favor of tearing a boulder out of the ground and shouting, “Think fast!”

Zuko leapt to the side, narrowly avoiding the rock, and unsheathed his swords. “It’s on.”

When they were done, they slipped through the walls back into the Lower Ring. Right before Zuko took the left that would lead him back to his apartment, Toph caught his arm. “I’ll buy the mask. I have  _ ideas _ .”

His voice was justifiably worried. “What do you have planned? Toph?”

“Bye, Lee, I’ll see you later!”

In the Middle Ring, Toph got directions to a popular mask street stall. The owner of the cart seemed decently friendly. “Do you have any dragon masks?”

The middle-aged lady looked up from carving another mask, and said briskly, “You looking for any particular color, sweetie?”

She let the nickname slide, and thought for a moment. “Got anything in red?”

She felt the cart lady nod, and after a few moments she handed Toph a mask. She ran her fingers over the carved wooden swirls, and grinned viciously. “How much for it?”

“Fifteen coppers.”

Ten minutes later and ten coppers lighter, Toph finally started back towards the Upper Ring.

That evening, she snuck out, Sokka behind her. When they got to the Lower Ring, she crossed her arms. “Wait here, or else.”

“I will!” he said defensively. “I’m not curious about the new guy or anything, not me.”

Ignoring the blatant sarcasm, he was telling the truth. She slipped out of the alley and wove her way through the now-familiar neighborhood of the Lower Ring. Zuko was standing outside the teashop with his swords, as usual, and she handed him the mask straight away.

“The first dragon!” he said with surprise. “How did you know I liked this character?”

Toph snorted. “I just asked the cart lady for a dragon, Prickly. What did you think it was?”

His heartbeat squiggled a bit, and he muttered, “The mask- it’s a character from the play Love Amongst Dragons.”

“You like theater?” She was grinning so hard it hurt. He was never going to live this down.

His voice was quiet when he said, “My mother used to take me to see plays.”

Oh.

She liked teasing her friends, but she had a very clear line in the sand. “I’m sorry.”

Zuko took a deep breath, and although his heartbeat was still a little fast, his voice was level. “But you managed to get one of the best characters. They were the first dragon that Agni created, and they were born in our world, not the spirit realm.”

He talked quietly but enthusiastically about theater for the next five minutes, as they headed back to where Sokka stood.

“He’s a block away,” Toph whispered. “You should probably put the mask on.”

It happened quickly enough that Toph took a moment to figure out where Zuko had gone.

Somehow, he had leapt up onto a roof, and he called down to her in a lowered voice, “Lead the way. I’ll follow from here.”

Toph stifled a laugh, and made a beeline for Sokka’s alley.

“There you are! Where’s Swordy?”

Zuko hopped off a roof out of Sokka’s line of sight, and nodded at Toph. “He’ll be here in a moment,” she said smugly.

He lightly tapped Sokka’s shoulder, who screamed and jumped a mile into the air. “Tui and La! Where did you come from?” He whirled on Toph and growled, “Was this your idea?”

“He came up with it. You screamed like a hyena-fox,” she said through her laughter.

Zuko jerked his head towards the entrance, and Sokka tilted his head. “You don’t talk?”

He shook his head.

Toph snarked, “You talk enough for all three of us.”

He mumbled something under his breath that she couldn’t quite catch, and Zuko went back to the roofs.

Sokka squawked when he noticed. “Where did he go?”

“He’s like that. Come on, let’s get outta here.”

After an hour of Zuko silently trying to correct Sokka’s stances, Toph was bored. “Sokka, take a break. Sunshine, with me. Swords against earthbending.”

He crossed his arms, and pointedly turned his back to nudge Sokka’s foot into a better position.

Toph groaned and went back to her rocks. Zuko had pulled a cool move the other day. When she knocked him down, he spun fire around him when he got up. Earth wasn’t that fluid, but . . . 

She broke a rock into crumbles, and experimentally pushed them around a bit. Earthbending was more hard edges than flowing curves, and the slow jerky motion of the particles wasn’t what she was looking for. Unless-

The day Appa was taken was terrible. She had a split focus, and couldn’t find her footing in sand. But she remembered bits and pieces- the sandbenders’ movements were so fluid.

Maybe she could try smaller pieces. Toph ground the rock into sand, and instantly felt a difference. In the desert, she’d solidified small bits of sand so she could root herself. If she switched back and forth between sand and discs of rock-

Her concentration was broken by shouting in her homemade ring.

“I don’t get it! What am I doing wrong?”

“You’re putting your weight on the wrong foot!” Zuko yelled back.

Sokka’s heartbeat spiked. “ _ Zuko? _ ”

“Shit.” Zuko pulled off the mask and tossed it to the side.

Toph mentally smirked, and pasted a confused expression on her face. “Zuko? But you told me your name was Lee!”

Sokka growled, and pointed the sword he was holding at Zuko. “You tricked Toph?”

Zuko’s heartbeat was going a million miles an hour, and when he spoke, he sounded slightly panicked. “No! I swear, I- she’s-”

Toph couldn’t hold it in anymore, and she burst out laughing.

Sokka lowered his sword a hair. “Wait . . . Toph? You knew?”

At her laughter, Zuko settled down slightly, and Sokka didn’t miss the change in stance. He sank the sword into the ground, ready to grab it at a moment’s notice, but not actively defensive. Good. He was ready to listen.

“I couldn’t pass up the chance to mess with you,” she said, after finally calming down.

“Why were you teaching me swordfighting?”

“You’re Toph’s friend.” Zuko hesitated, and added, “And because I want to help you all take down my father.”

Sokka crossed his arms. “Yeah, right.”

Zuko took a step forward and snapped, “Hey!” 

Wrong tone, fix fast! She nudged his arm, and the reminder that she was there must have helped. He took a deep breath, and continued, “Sorry. But, um. I figured, the Avatar probably needs a firebending teacher, right? I can, you know. Firebend.”

“Oh,  _ I know _ . Considering I’ve been fighting you for months,” Sokka said sharply.

Zuko slumped a little. “Right. Sorry about that.”

This was just  _ sad _ . “Sokka,” Toph snapped, “if your dad asked you to capture Zuko for him, would you?”

“Well, obviously. Dad’s a genius!”

She waited for him to catch on. Sokka wasn’t dumb, even if he was a dumbass. Sure enough, Sokka made a soft noise of understanding.

“Oh. But, wait. Why would you stop chasing Aang now? How can we trust you won’t change your mind again?”

Toph cheered internally. Convincing Sokka that Zuko had changed was the hard part. Now she just had to pound it into his head that Zuko wasn’t going to change back.

“I realized that what I wanted would never happen,” Zuko said flatly. “And I went through the Earth Kingdom as a refugee. I saw what my father’s war was doing to people who did nothing to deserve it. I want to put a stop to it.”

Sokka hesitated. “You’re really not going to try to catch Aang?”

“Snoozles, I can tell when people lie. He really does want to help.”

“You can?” Sokka said, flabbergasted.

Toph nodded. “Yeah. But with Prickly here, I don’t even need my seismic sense to tell. He’s a terrible liar.”

Zuko didn’t disagree. “Your seismic sense would’ve been helpful back in the palace.”

Shit. His tone was neutral, but Toph had a gut feeling that there was more to it than that. With Sokka there, she didn’t pry, but at least Zuko would probably tell her later if it was important. “So we’re all good here?”

“We have to tell Katara and Aang about this.”

Zuko’s heartbeat ticked upward at the mention of the two benders, but he nodded. “I know.”

Toph crossed her arms. “We don’t have to tell them yet if you don’t want to.”

“No, it’s probably for the best,” he groaned. “Something will inevitably go wrong, and I’d rather explain now instead of while we’re running for our lives.”

Sokka shrugged. “Hopefully by the time you join us, we’ll be flying for our lives. We’ve been looking for Appa. Our flying bison? You tracked us all over. You think you could find him?”

“Maybe. You came here to find Appa?”

Zuk’s heartbeat had settled into a steady focus, and Toph grinned. If he was as good at tracking as the others said, they’d find Appa in no time!

He had no idea where to find Appa, but he knew who did. “The Dai Li. They know Ba Sing Se like the back of their hand.”

Toph looked thrilled at the conspiring, but Sokka just looked dubious. “And we’re going to, what, walk up and ask them if they know where Appa is?”

“What? No.” He crossed his arms and concentrated. He had to find a way to capture a single Dai Li agent to interrogate them. Maybe bait? A trap? Wait- “I have a plan. Toph, take him to the shop. I’ll meet you there an hour after sunset.”

“I want to come with you!”

“This plan will only take one person,” he countered. “I’ve got this.”

Toph didn’t look happy about it, but she nodded. Sokka on the other hand . . .

“How do we know you’re not going to tell all your evil Fire Nation friends about Appa?”

“Lie detector,” Toph said, elbowing Sokka.

He left them bickering, and slipped the mask back on.

“Appa’s under Lake Laogai.”

He internally smirked with satisfaction when Sokka jumped. Toph must have felt him coming, and Uncle was used to his quiet movement.

“You found him?” Sokka said in disbelief. “Or is this a trap to kidnap Aang?”

“Lake Laogai is where Joo Dee said she went. Before she came back all weird,” Toph added.

“Joo Dee?”

She grimaced. “The lady they had watching us. We got her in trouble on accident, then some other lady said  _ she _ was Joo Dee, and then the original one came back all . . . blank.”

“Toph, you and I can get into the Dai Li’s secret base, and sneak around to get Appa.”

“Nuh-uh,” Sokka interrupted. “If this is a trap, Toph’s not going alone. I’m coming too.”

Zuko scrutinized him, and shrugged. “If you can stay quiet, fine.”

He glanced at Uncle, who smiled at him. “I trust you, nephew. But if you’re not back by tomorrow evening, I will burn the Dai Li to the ground looking for you.”

“Thank you.”

Sokka opened his mouth to say something, but Toph elbowed him. “Don’t worry, Uncle, I’ll keep him from doing anything dumb.”

“The same offer applies for you,” he said warmly.

Toph grinned. “I’ve got this covered. I’m the greatest earthbender in the world!”

“Let’s go,” Zuko said roughly. They had to get moving before the agent was missed.

Moving through the streets of the Lower Ring was harder with two other people. They weren’t quiet enough to take the roofs, and on the ground, they had to be more careful with their path through the city. Finally they got far enough out for Toph to earthbend a moving hill, and they were at Lake Laogai in no time.

“Toph?”

“I got this,” she smirked. She took a bending stance and jumped. When she slammed into the ground, a pathway erupted from the water. Zuko led them in with a sinking feeling that they were walking into a trap.

“The Dai Li agent gave me directions to where they’re keeping Appa. This way.”

He led them through the twisting tunnels, and tried not to think about how much earth and water surrounded them. “Toph, anyone nearby?”

She shook her head, and he slid the door open, wincing at the grinding noise.

Appa struggled to his feet and growled at Zuko. Clearly he recognized him.

He stepped inside, and the others followed him. The bison calmed down at their presence, and Zuko moved before anyone could stop him.

“Stop!” Sokka yelled.

The chains clattered to the ground, and even though Sokka couldn’t see Zuko’s glare under his mask, the Water Tribe boy had the grace to look sheepish. “Sorry. I thought you were going to stab him or something.”

Toph punched him in the arm. “I told you already, he’s here to help.”

“Now’s not the time,” Zuko said before they could get into it. “We don’t know who heard you. Let’s just get Appa out of here before the Dai Li find us.”

Appa shook the remnants of chains off and the other two hopped on happily. Zuko followed with much more trepidation, but once he was on the bison, he barely resisted the urge to sink into the fur. Appa was _ so soft _ .

Sokka took the lead. “Appa, get us out of here! Yip yip!”

The bison swept upwards, and Zuko saw Toph fists clench on the fur.

“I would catch you. If you fell, I mean,” he offered awkwardly.

She didn’t loosen her grip, but her grimace eased a little. “Thanks. I miss our saddle.”

They landed with a thud in the Upper Ring. As soon as the bison stopped moving, Toph slid off and rooted herself in the ground. Sokka wasn’t far behind her, but Zuko crouched low on top of the bison. Hopefully if the Avatar and the waterbender had a moment to appreciate Appa, they would be less inclined to murder him and/or get him arrested.

He did not have high hopes for this meeting.

The bison bellowed and approximately two seconds later a yellow-and-orange blur hurtled out of the house. “Appa!” The Avatar threw himself onto his bison, and didn’t let go.

Zuko hopped off the bison, using it to block him from the view of the flighty airbender. He debated taking off. Maybe if he and Uncle ran far enough fast enough, they wouldn’t-

Toph elbowed him, and said bluntly, “Prickly, do you trust me?”

“Yes.” He didn’t even hesitate, and he wondered a little at how quickly the tiny earthbender had grown on him.

“Then  _ trust me _ . If they yell at you, I’ve got your back.”

He took a meditative breath. “Alright. And Toph?”

“Yeah?”

“Thank you.”

She grinned at him. “We’re just getting started.”

**Author's Note:**

> this has been sitting in my drafts for weeks because I thought I was going to keep going with it? i had a few pages of them meeting king kuei and defeating the dai li written when I got bored of it lol. There's some INCREDIBLE "Zuko joins the Gaang Early" fics out there, and I don't wanna do that. I love Ba Sing Se fics, and I wanted to write my own version of a Toph & Zuko friendship bc i fucking love them, and Toph deserved a life-changing field trip.


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